Before the introduction of Indian culture, Indonesia had its own unique art form. In addition to the influence of Indian music in the way of singing, gamelan has its own style. Gamelan instruments developed into today's scale during the Majapahit Dynasty (if it was the 14th to 15th century AD).
According to Javanese mythology, gamelan was invented by the god SangHyang Guru in 230 AD. SangHyang Guru is said to have a palace on Mount Lawu and rule over all other parts of Java. gods. Guru Sanyang wanted to convey messages to other gods through sound, so he invented the gong. In order to express more complex signals, he invented two more gongs, which became the gamelan.
The earliest reliefs about music performance appeared in the Borobudur Temple in central Java in the eighth century AD. Various gongs, drums, bamboo flutes, bells, plucked strings and stringed instruments appeared on the reliefs. , but there are no images of celesta and xylophone, showing the earliest form of performance in Indonesia.
In the twelfth century, two gamelan ensembles appeared in the Javanese court, Munggang and Kodokngorek gamelan, which became the basis of the "loud style". Another tradition of Kemanak, which sang poems, became the basis of the "soft style" and gradually evolved into the musical style of Bedhaya dance. In the 17th century, the two styles influenced each other and gradually developed into the gamelan ensembles of Bali, Java and Sunda today. The gamelan styles of each Indonesian island have their own characteristics, but they have common features in music theory, musical instruments and performance techniques.